AU737905B2

AU737905B2 - Razor with sound indicator signalling first use

Info

Publication number: AU737905B2
Application number: AU10371/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jean Bernard Rebaudieres
Original assignee: BIC SA
Current assignee: BIC SA
Priority date: 1997-10-28
Filing date: 1998-10-28
Publication date: 2001-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-28
Also published as: DE69803406D1; FR2770170B1; ES2171043T3; MXPA00004050A; EP1027195A1; EP1027195B1; AU1037199A; PL340250A1; WO1999021690A1; FR2770170A1; BR9813270A; US6539633B1; PL188263B1; JP2001520925A; CN1278203A; RU2193964C2; KR100614706B1; KR20010031533A; CN1106248C; DE69803406T2

Description

1 Razor With Sound Indicator Signalling First Use The present invention relates"to a razor, especially a disposable one or having a disposable head, the blade or blades of which are protected by a cover or protective housing at the time of acquisition by the user.

When he buys the razor the user cannot have the certainty that it has not already been used, or that the blade has not been altered in one way or other. This uncertainty is all the more annoying in the case of a disposable razor or disposable head, the life span of which is by definition relatively short averaging 5 to 7 uses. Certainly most disposable *razors are equipped with a protective cover that fits onto the razor head to protect the blade or blades. However, the presence of this protective cover is not sufficient to give any real guarantee to the user since said cover is perfectly replaceable, being intended to o••o Is be reposition on the razor head after each use. The same holds true for the disposable •°*heads that are inserted in protective housings, insofar as it is possible to reposition the disposable head in its housing after use.

o Certainly, there is a solution that consists in selling the razor or disposable head in an adequate packaging which must be destroyed in order to take possession of the razor 20 or the head. However, in this case, to be totally effective, it is necessary that there be one wrapping per razor or head. In fact, with a number of razors or head being sold in the same packaging, once the latter is opened, the user is no longer capable of knowing whether one or other razor (or heads) has or has not been used a question one might a wish to ask if the razors (or heads) are at the disposal of several people.

There has already been proposed, by the document W097/19612, a solution consisting in providing temporarily fixed means that are attached both to the protective cover and to the head of the razor, said means consisting in particular of an adhesive tape that must by manually removed or broken in order to remove the protective cover from the razor and use the latter.

The solution requires to put in place supplementary means, something that complicates the production of the razor and which requires a particular operation from the user to which he is not used.

The task the applicant has set himself is to propose a different solution to this Iproblem which does not require the use of packaging and which remedies the Sinconveniences of the solution proposed in the document W097/19612.

[R\LIBT]26278.docjmt la Accordingly, the present invention provides a razor having a head provided with a protective member and at least one cutting blade, wherein said head engages said protective member in a removable manner so as to protect said cutting blade(s) and wherein said razor includes at least one tongue, said tongue being fixed either to said head or to said protective member, and being respectively engageable either with a portion of said protective member or with a portion of said head, wherein said tongue is adapted to be broken when said protective member is removed from said head.

So So

S

*or [R:\LIBT]26278.docjmt 2 The sound caused by the tongue being broken constitutes an audible proof confirming, to the user, that the protective element which had been fitted during the assembly of the razor had not yet been withdrawn, and thus the use he will make [of the razor] is truly a first use.

In the case of a disposable razor or a razor with disposable head, equipped with a protective cover that fits removably onto the head of the razor to protect the cutting blade or blades before and after use, according to a first variant of the invention the tongue is attached to the head of the razor and engages with a portion of the protective cover when the latter is withdrawn. When the user retracts the protective cover, he is obliged to exert a certain amount of pull on the razor in order to disengage the protective cover from the head of the razor. During the relative displacement of the cover and the head, a portion of the cover engages with the tongue and, according to the invention, breaks the latter.

In a preferred type of embodiment, the protective cover possesses a shoulder having a rectilinear internal surface that is about parallel to the plane of the tongue while the cover is placed on the head of the razor, and having a concave external surface. In this type of implementation, it is the internal rectilinear surface which engages with the tongue and which transfers to the latter the force necessary to break it during the withdrawal of the cover. In contrast, the convex surface lets the cover be placed on the head of the razor despite the presence of the tongue; in fact due to the convex shape there occurs a progressive mechanical action on the tongue which drives the latter to bend without breaking.

In preference the shoulder with concave external surface and rectilinear internal surface forms the lengthwise edge of the protective cover.

The tongue is preferably placed at the lower side of the razor head, so as not to alter the aesthetics of the razor head.

More particularly, in the case of a disposable razor made up from elements obtained by moulding or injection of plastic material, the part capable of being broken during the first retraction of the protective cover forms an integral part of one of the said elements of the head.

According to another variant of the invention, the part playing the role of audible proof of first use is a tongue attached to the inner face of the protective cover, engaging a portion of the razor head during the retraction of said cover.

In addition, it may be possible to dispose not one but several tongues capable of being broken during the first retraction of the protective cover, said parts especially being offset from one another in the direction of the movement of the protective cover in relation to the head of the razor during retraction of said cover so as to cause a succession of breaking sounds.

In the case of a razor system with disposable heads, perhaps not provided with a protective cover, in which system each disposable head is inserted in a protective housing into which said head fits removably, said system characteristically includes at least one tongue capable of being broken during the first retraction of the head from its housing, in the same conditions as above.

The present invention will be better understood by reading the following description of a Spreferred embodiment of a disposable razor with audible proof of first use, illustrated by the attached drawing where the only figure is a schematic representation of said razor in partial section. 40 C08284 The razor 1 comprises a head 2 and a handle that is not shown, said head 2 being fitted with a cutting blade 3. In the case of a disposable razor, this head 2 is made up of several elements obtained by injection or moulding of plastic material, for example polystyrene, and assembled by any suitable means.

The razor 1 also includes a protective cover 4 that shrouds the entire front portion 5 of the head 2 and that has the function of protecting the cutting blade 3. This protective cover 4 is shaped to engage, removably, with said front portion 5. It is kept in place, in the configuration shown, by means of any known method, for example by having locating pins, made by thermic punching of the protective cover, said locating pins pushing into hollow portions of the razor head, creating in this way a certain resistance to the withdrawal of the protective cover 4.

According to the feature of the invention, the head 2 of the razor 1, including its protective cover 4, furthermore comprises a tongue capable of being broken during the first retraction of the protective cover 4. This part constitutes an audible proof, guaranteeing that the cover 4 has never been taken off after its initial placement on the head 2.

In the example shown, this tongue 6 forms an integral part of one of the elements 7 obtained by injection or moulding of a plastic material. This tongue 6 is arranged below the lower face 2a of the head 2, about perpendicular to said face 2a.

The longitudinal edge 4a of the protective cover 4 that will be placed at the level of said lower face 2a of the head 2 ends in a shoulder 8 turned toward the inside of the protective cover 4. This shoulder 8 has the form of an oval quad, with an external convex surface 8a and a rectilinear internal surface 8b.

During the first placement of the protective cover 4 upon the head 2, it is the concave surface 8a which pushes against the tongue 6. Due to the curvature of this convex surface 8a, the tongue is subjected to a progressive force that makes it bend without breaking. In contrast, when the user retracts the protective cover 4, it is the internal rectilinear surface 8b that pushes against the tongue 6, applying a large instant moment that is sufficient to break the tongue 6 and to cause the audible signal that signifies a first use, according to the invention.

To achieve a clean, reliable break, the internal rectilinear surface 8b is preferably parallel to the plane of the tongue 6; in addition, the thickness of the tongue 6 must be sufficiently small in order for the mechanical resistance necessary to cause the break to be compatible with the usual force employed by the user to withdraw the protective cover 4.

The present invention is not limited to the exact mode of implementation just described by way of a non-exhaustive example. One could in fact arrange on the lower face 2a of the head 2 a series of tongues 6, offset from one another in the direction of the movement of the inner surface 8b during the retraction of the cover 4, triggering a succession of breaks and thus a cascading sound effect.

Besides, it would be possible to attach the tongue capable of being broken not to the head of the razor, either, but to the cover itself. In this case it is a portion of the head which would serve as the a earing surface for achieving the rupture of said tongue. This alternative, however, would be more t plex to implement compared to the above-mentioned example.

C08284 In the previous description, the retraction of the protective cover 4 occurs in a direction shown by the arrow F in the drawing. Other forms of protective covers can be used, according to the invention, including those where the withdrawal is made in a longitudinal direction in relation to the direction of the cutting blades, a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the section in the sole figure. In this case of course the bearing surface would no longer be in a longitudinal direction, as mentioned above, but in a transverse direction.

Finally, the present invention is applicable not only to the disposable razors as described above, but equally to shaving systems comprising a razor with disposable heads, these heads being sold in packs and inserted in protective housings, each head being nested in the corresponding housing. When the user wishes to use a new head, he holds the headless razor against the housing, puts the means of integration in the head and pulls, so as to cause the head to come free of the housing in which it is nested. Later he can, if he so wishes, replace the head after use in its housing by going about it in the opposite way to that just described. According to the invention, the shaving system incorporates a tongue capable of being broken during the first retraction of the head from its housing. This tongue is attached either in the housing or on the head in a similar manner to that described in the example cited above, that is to say engaging respectively with either a portion of the head or with a portion of the housing in such a way as to be broken during the first withdrawal of the head from its housing. Thus, when the user withdraws the head from its housing for the first time after purchase, he hears the intended sound effect that guarantees him that the head he is about to use is being used for the first time.

C08284

Claims

1. A razor having a head provided with a protective member and at least one cutting blade, wherein said head engages said protective member in a removable manner so as to protect said cutting blade(s) and wherein said razor includes at least one tongue, said tongue being fixed either to said head or to said protective member, and being respectively engageable either with a portion of said protective member or with a portion of said head, wherein said tongue is adapted to be broken when said protective member is removed from said head. I0

2. A razor according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is a protective cap and wherein said tongue is fixed on said razor head and engages with a l portion of said protective cap while said protective cap is being removed, said protective cap being removably engageable on said razor head once said tongue is broken.

3. A razor according to claim 2, wherein said protective cap provides a shoulder on its inside face, said shoulder having an outer surface which is convex and an ooooo inner surface which is rectilinear and substantially parallel to the plane of said tongue when said cap is in place on said razor head.

4. A razor according to claim 3, wherein said shoulder forms a a longitudinal edge of the protective cap that engages said tongue.

A razor according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein said tongue is on a bottom face of said razor head.

6. A razor according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said razor is a disposable razor constituted by elements obtained by molding or injecting a plastics material, and wherein said tongue is formed as an integral portion of an element of said head.

7. A razor according to claim 1, wherein said protective member is a protective cap and the tongue is fixed on the inner face of said protective cap and engages Twith a portion of head of said razor while said cap is being removed and wherein said cap is removably engageable on said razor head once said tongue is broken. [R:\LIBT]26278.doc:jmt 6

8. A razor according to any one of claims 2 to 7, having a plurality of said tongues, each being offset from one another in the direction in which said protective cap travels relative to said razor head while said cap is being removed.

9. A shaving system comprising a razor in accordance with claim 1, wherein said head is replaceable and said system includes at least one said replaceable head, wherein said protective member of each replaceable head is a protective housing in 0o which said replaceable head is inserted and wherein at least on tongue is fixed either in said housing or on said head, engaging respectively either with a portion of said head or with a portion of said housing wherein said tongue is adapted to be broken when said I: head is removed from said housing.

10. A razor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

11. A shaving system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing. Dated 13 July, 2001 .Societe Bic Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON&FERGUSON [R:\LIBT]26278.doc-jmt